Will there be a cyber war between Ukraine and Russia?

With the stand-off in the disputed region of Crimea continuing between Ukraine and Russia, the potential of a wider conflict arising is very real. But will this conflict overspill into cyberspace?

Judging from the past, if a conflagration does occur there can be no doubt that it will. There are previous examples where the parties involved in a conflict, including Russia, have employed their cyber warfare capabilities to pursue their aims, including the massive DDOS attack on Estonia in 2007 when a Soviet-era statue was moved, and during the 2008 Russo-Georgian war over South Ossetia.

There are already rumblings in cyberspace of a potential cyber conflict: according to a report on the BBC website, Ukraine’s mobile networks have already come under sustained attack. Ukrainian hacktivists have also reportedly attacked 40 different Russian websites.

If you want to learn more about the tactics, tools and techniques of cyber warfare, read: